• Chiefly, the carefully structured form of the story into four sections, is worthy of admiration. For every chapter break, Milius, a great writer, has the voice-over set to the landscapes of the shoreline. He names the chapters after different “swells”, the “west swell”, “south swell” (part 2) and the final “great swell” – strong form
  • Milius calls it his How Green Was My Valley– and that makes sense that he’d see himself in Ford. Ford is sort of cinema’s Hemingway (minimal, masculine) and Milius certainly adored Hemingway and every one of his films is about masculinity
  • Milius wrote (partially) Apocalypse Now– surfing is important to him. Lance in that film is a surfer (Vietnam of course)
  • Nostalgia- first chapter set in 1962 like American Graffiti. Coming of age and the ending of an era. Bogdanovich’s Last Picture Show for sure (The Bear here played Sam Melville) is absolutely Ben Johnson (also a film inspired by Ford) is “Sam the Lion”-
  • Diner from Levinson was set in 1959—Grease, also from 1978, set in California (like Big Wednesday though some of the surfing is shot in Hawaii) in 1959
  • Authentic—you can tell this is autobiographical in the detail and clear adoration Milius has for the era, the people, the subject: surfing
  • End of innocence, friendship

a surprisingly touching meloncholia moment when Milius’ camera lingers on a one-night stand, a character that never speaks, but is left in the dust…

  • A nice magic hour sunset landscape at 67 minutes
  • Slapstick fights, vignettes of comedy- Amarcord from Fellini- Gary Busey coming his hair with a dead fish as they all had different draft dodging strategies, favorite burger place turning into hippie den, Bear going corporate
  • A loaded soundtrack- Ray Charles, The Four Seasons
  • Problems with the story and who we’re following- it actually shifts from William Katt’s story to Jan-Michael Vincent’s about half way through. Katt’s Jack Barlow character goes to Vietnam and we don’t go—it’s almost as if the location is more important to Milius and I guess that’s ok—there’s just not balance because we don’t get Busey’s story either and he’s part of the 3 and Vincent’s Matt character is at that location during the first half and it isn’t his story at that time
  • Deer Hunter is another film- 1978, Vietnam, story of buddies (3 in this case) and a specific place (very well captured by the auteur)—touching reunion here as Katt’s character comes back from the war and they go surfing.
  • Again, Milius’ love of surfing is infectious. The “Great Swell” ending – the three friends walking towards the waves like the final walk of the four men in The Wild Bunch

Again, Milius’ love of surfing is infectious. The “Great Swell” ending – the three friends walking towards the waves like the final walk of the four men in The Wild Bunch

  • Longer surfing montage ending
  • Recommend/Highly Recommend border